A-State vs. Kentucky Series HistoryThe Red Wolves trail the all-time series with the Wildcats by a count of 0-2 with Kentucky winning the first meeting by a score of 3-2 in 1992 in Lexington. The other meeting was won by UK 3-0 in 1998 in Lexington in the Kentucky’s Conference Challenge.Arkansas State is currently 52-65 against teams that are currently in the Southeastern Conference. A-State has played all 14 teams and has winning records against six schools that include Mississippi State (18-7), South Carolina (2-0), LSU (2-1), Tennessee (2-1), Arkansas (1-0), and Vanderbilt (1-0). Vanderbilt has since discontinued the sport. A-State’s only meeting against an SEC school last season was at Ole Miss on Sept. 6.However, A-State head coach David Rehr is currently 0-9 against SEC competition.

A-State vs. Cincinnati Series HistoryArkansas State and Cincinnati have never met on the volleyball court.A-State played one team from the American Athletic Conference last season with Tulsa sweeping the Red Wolves on Sept. 10 at the A-State Invitational in Jonesboro. It was one of two losses A-State suffered on its home court.The Red Wolves are currently 48-44 against teams currently in the AAC with head coach David Rehr holding a 4-2 mark against teams from the league.A-State plays three different teams from the American Athletic Conference this season to make it the most represented league on A-State’s nonconference slate. In addition to the Bearcats, Arkansas State hosts SMU and will play UCF in the Central Arkansas Invitational.

A-State vs. Utah Series HistoryThe Red Wolves are 0-1 all-time against the Utes with the lone meeting occurring in 2006 with Utah claiming a 3-0 win over A-State in the Florida Gator Aquafina Invitational.A-State is just 1-4 all-time against programs from the PAC-12 conference with the lone win coming in the 1991 Albuturkey Classic by a score of 3-1. One loss has come to the Utes with the other three coming to California, Arizona State, and Oregon. Head coach David Rehr has never faced a team from the PAC-12 during his tenure as A-State’s head coach.

Three Named Preseason All-SBCA-State’s Carlisa May, Kenzie Fields, and Jessica Uke all earned a spot on the SBC’s Preseason All-Conference Team. The three players were the most by any one team with Louisiana-Lafayette, UT Arlington, and Texas State each placing two.May is the reigning SBC Offensive Player of the Year and has 810 kills to her name during her career at A-State. She won the SBC Freshman of the Year Award and AVCA All-Southwest Region Freshman of the Year before garnering Honorable Mention AVCA All-American honors to become just the second All-American in school history at the time in 2015. May led the league with 445 kills in 2016.Fields won the league’s Freshman of the Year award in 2016 as a redshirt freshman and was second on the team with 288 kills. She also had the second most double-doubles with six.Uke, a senior in the upcoming season, has never earned a postseason or preseason award from the league, but was well-deserved after hitting .365 a season ago with 148 kills and 50 blocks. The .365 hitting percentage was the fifth-best in school history for a single season.

A-State Picked to Repeat as Division ChampsA-State was picked to the win the West Division for the second straight season with 71 points and 11 of the 12 first-place votes. Texas State was picked second with 57 points and the other first-place vote. Texas State was responsible for snapping the Red Wolves’ 20-match SBC winning streak last season with a 3-1 win in San Marcos on Oct. 7. However, it was A-State’s only blemish in the regular season to a league foe and the Red Wolves enter 2017 with an 11-match conference win streak.UTA, Little Rock, Louisiana, and ULM round out the rest of the West Division. Coastal Carolina was picked to repeat as East Division champions with 72 points and all 12 first-place votes. The Chanticleers defeated A-State 3-1 in last season’s SBC Tournament final and went on to win a match in the NCAA Tournament.South Alabama was picked to finish second in the East Division followed by Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Appalachian State, and Troy.

A-State in Season OpenersA-State is 27-15 all-time in season openers with Coach Rehr holding a 2-3 mark in his five season openers. The Red Wolves have won their last two season openers with sweeps of Southeast Missouri in 2015 and Northwestern State last year.The Red Wolves won eight straight season openers from 1977 to 1984 for the longest streak in school history, with the longest losing streak being three twice (2005-07 and 2012-14).

What a Senior ClassArkansas State lost five seniors off last season’s team in Markie Schaedig, Mallory Warrington, Kelsey Reis, Jessica Heuertz, and Shelby Holmes.Schaedig and Warrington were both All-Americans a season ago, with Schaedig earning the school’s first All-American honor as a sophomore in 2014. Schaedig ended her career with the third most digs in school history (2,153). Warrington became the ninth member of the 1,000-1,000 Club with 4,296 career assists and 1,183 digs. The 4,296 assists were the third most in school history. Schaedig was a three-time SBC Defensive Player of the Year, while Warrington received the Setter of the Year award from the league twice.Reis was no slouch as she was a back-to-back First-Team All-Conference performer and finished her career with 399 blocks, good for eighth most in school history. She is also responsible for the seventh-highest hitting percentage in school history of .302. Heuertz played in 121 matches in her career with 684 digs as a defensive specialist, while Holmes played in 65 with 246 kills.A-State has eight newcomers on the squad with Pittsburgh transfer Ellie Watkins set to take over at setter. The libero position will be fought out between sophomore Diane Phillips along with freshmen Tatum Ticknor and Ryley Gill. Freshman middle blocker Timber Terrell figures to see some playing time along with freshman outside hitters Madison Brown and Peyton Uhlenhake.

Red Wolves Non-Conference Notes From 2016Arkansas State went 8-6 in non-conference this season with wins against teams from the ACC, Big 10, Summit League, Southland (2-0), Atlantic 10, Big West, and Ohio Valley.The losses were to teams from the Big 12, SEC, American Athletic, Horizon League, Missouri Valley, and Conference USA.The two wins over teams from “Power 5” leagues (North Carolina State and Indiana) are the most in a single season for A-State since 2000 when the Red Wolves defeated Marquette and LSU.The Red Wolves are 36-28 in non-conference action under head coach David Rehr.